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Testing the USP

Lesson 14 from: Brand Strategy and Design for Small Businesses

Haylee Powers

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Lesson Info

14. Testing the USP

Next Lesson: Quiz: Chapter 3

Lesson Info

Testing the USP

testing the U. S. P. In this lesson. You will learn all about testing your unique selling proposition. We'll go through the U. S. P. Test together and this will help make sure you have a strong unique selling proposition as you move forward after you have your strong USP which may take a while depending on your product or service. You will test your USP against the U. S. P. Test. You want to make sure your unique selling proposition is strong because everything stems from that USP spend the time to really get a concise strong U. S. P. So that you can build your brand for success. There are ways we can test our difference. The first question I asked myself when testing my USP is, can I switch out my brand's name for another brand's name and have it have the same statement or claim. If so it isn't a strong statement. I call this the donut test only because my example includes two donut shop brands. Let's start with windchills Donuts as an example on their website. They claim to be home o...

f the warm and fresh donut. So let's say Windchills USP is wind chills is the home of the warm and fresh donut. Let's take the USB for voodoo donuts if you don't know Voodoo doughnuts is an independent and eclectic donut shop that started in Portland Oregon. They are a bit edgy and also add humor into their overall brand experience. We see donuts with the names like old dirty bastard maple blazer, blunt and of course their signature voodoo doll. Voodoo donuts has made a name for themselves. They have even gotten themselves on the travel channel, people will wait outside and huge lines to go in and get a donut from voodoo. I even know a woman who has her voodoo donuts package framed for the first time she went. If I had to create a USB for voodoo donuts, it would be. Voodoo Donuts is a doughnut shop tourist attraction. Voodoo is extremely differentiated and they got this way by really working through their brand strategy and their overall experience. So now we can do the donut test. Let's see if wind chills can be replaced by Voodoo Donuts, USP, Winchell's donuts is the tourist attraction donut shop, nope, that doesn't work simply because it isn't true. This would mean that Voodoo Donuts has a strong, solid USP. Voodoo donuts is the donut shop tourist attraction because they've been on the travel channel. They also creative fun eccentric energy throughout their shop. So you can see how windchills cannot be replaced with voodoo donuts or vice versa. When you are in doubt, take a competitors name and USP and replace their name with your name. If the U. S. P. And the name together do not make sense. You know, your USP is differentiated in Bill Shelby's book, why johnny can't brand. Bill writes about testing our USP against some questions to ensure that it is strong and competitive. He asks if our USP is superlative, important, believable, memorable and tangible. I really think this is a great test to make sure your USP is strong. Don't be discouraged. If you fail the USP test a few times, just keep going back and refining that unique selling proposition in order to set yourself up for success since the U. S. P. Is the foundation of our brand, it is worth taking time to create a USB that withstand the test? Let's dig a bit deeper into the test. It must be truly superlative, promising that you're the best at whatever you do is your USP superlative. Do you claim to be the # one brand in your category? And can you do the service or function better than anyone else? It must be important to the customer? Is your USP important? Does it address an important issue for decision makers? Will anyone care? Is it believable? Is your brand believable in its claims to fulfill consumer's needs? Can your customer believe that this claim is true? Does it offer a logical reason why it must be memorable in its emotional effect? Is your USP memorable? Is there an emotional hook that becomes ingrained in our customer's mind and is memorable all the way through purchase? And lastly it must be tangible by performing in a way that is consistent with your claims? Is your USP tangible? Is it real? Does it perform as promised? Can your customers stand behind your claim because they have experienced it firsthand, be credible and be valuable to your target audience. You will gain traction by just consistently delivering Jaco Walvis says, our brains keep track of the difference between the promised reward and the actual, based on that difference, it adjusts its valuation of the brand, meaning that if your brand promises the world, deliver the moon when a reward centers get more than expected, they naturally want to return to the source of that experience again and again. So say you're opening that italian coffee shop mateo that we created back a few lessons. You would want to do things that highlight your USP of the traditional italian espresso bar. Remember the USP was matteo is a traditional italian espresso bar. So if the USPS the foundation and the touch points are a reflection of the U. S. P. What kind of colors do you think would fit this? USP maybe use a deep, classic red with some dark wood. You would also design the interior to have a walk up bar without a lot of seating according to Elizabeth and chile. The most common ritual is drinking coffee, standing up at a bar, chatting with the barista espresso is meant to be social and a ritual of sorts. The cappuccino is also considered a breakfast beverage never ever to be consumed after late morning in italy. So you would want to adhere to these rules in your italian espresso bar, you would use traditional names for the coffee as well as serve the coffee as it is traditionally served. I read that espresso is served in glass instead of porcelain. You may even want to say, grazie instead of thank you to your guests, make sure that you live up to your USPS. Your customer always trusts you. You cannot claim to be something. You're not, you will lose the trust of your consumer and your brand will fail. We must live up to our brand claims so that the customer can see the integrity in our message, anything less will hurt your brand. You will not build trust by creating a promise for your audience and not living up to it. If you promise quality, deliver quality. If you promise excitement, deliver excitement, or if you're like Disney and you promise Magic, deliver on that magic.

Class Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

Checklist
Researching Your Target Audience
Creating the Audience Persona 1
Creating the Audience Persona 2
Brand Matrix Creation
Creating the USP
Testing the USP
Creating a Brand Story
Turning Brand Strategy into Design

Ratings and Reviews

Malik Muzamil
 

Haylee Powers' "Brand Strategy And Design For Small Businesses" is a must-try. Highly recommended! 👍🌟 Plus, she looks absolutely gorgeous💕. The conversational tone and practical advice make it a game-changer for small businesses.

Student Work

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